Does every Country have differ Accounting rules!

[LorichBrain]

I am always confused regarding accounting rules of countries. I found always differ rules and regulations.

 

[MichaelM123]

What do you mean? Different income tax rules or different cost accounting rules, etc. Can you please clarify?

 

[bklynboy]

Generally yes and there is no real international standard. IFRS is an attempt to have a common rule but even this when adopted by countries is politized and they change certain aspects to suit their own needs. Overall I think IFRS is mostly comparable across countries and is the best chance at convergence.

 

[biroly]

In my opinion,The biggest difference among the countries about accounting rules is about valuing long term fixed assets and recognizing income.I think basics of financial accounting is same in all countries.

 

[kaminisingh]

Yes,Every country have their own rules.

 

[Samir]

Answer in one word--YES!

VAT vs tax, tax assessments, income tax vs none, health care deductions vs provided care, etc., etc., etc.

There's enough details to worry about in just one country. Comparing countries' various systems will make your head spin...

 

[Kinlejus]

Yes, different country different rules

 

[lewish95]

The primary reason for adopting one standard internationally is that if different accounting standards are used, it's difficult for investors or lenders to compare the financial health of two companies. ... Companies in these countries have a tighter relationship with banks.

 

[Asha Kanta Sharma]

First of all each country does not have it's own set of accounting standards. Generally most either use U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

There has been in project in the works for at least the last decade to combine these two into one set up high quality accounting standards used through out the world. This is commonly referred to as convergence.

The project has run into several hurtles and in recent years seems to have stalled or slowed down significantly. Generally speaking IFRS is more a principals based approach and US GAAP is more rules / tests based. IFRS is more flexible and leaves more room for interpretation.

Some of the largest differences between the two include:

Accounting for leases
Revenue recognition
Mark to market or using a fair value approach to valuing assets.